Foundation
by Roga
Summary: Lets go back to where it all began...


Foundation  
by Dana  
  
Disclaimer: I can safely say everyone here belongs to Joss.  
  
Summary: It's the beginning of a new decade. Let's go back to where everything began.  
  
* * *  
  
In the darkest hour of the night only two things could be heard above the deathly stillness. One was a pair of feet treading softly in the mud between the graves of Sunnydale's largest cemetery. The other was... well, it was another pair of feet treading softly on the mud between the graves of Sunnydale's largest cemetery, slightly behind the first pair. These feet were considerably smaller, and the footprints they left marked the brown mud with the stamp of Adidas.  
  
In the still air of the night it was possible to hear the change in the sounds of the steps, from annoying squishes to quiet thumps. And then a whisper.  
  
"Is there really a treasure down there?"  
  
"Of course, boy."  
  
The thumps began to echo as the shoes made their way underground.  
  
***  
  
Not too long after, some different sounds were heard in the cemetery as five people-or, to be exact, four people and one unpeople-followed the footsteps imprinted in the mud.   
  
"We know the kid was wearing Adidas sneakers," Xander Harris noted. "It's a Clue."  
  
Buffy Summers raised an eyebrow. "It's not a Clue. It's barely a smear in the mud. How can you tell the brand?"  
  
"Oh, Xander's always worn Adidas," Willow Rosenberg grinned. "They were his and Jesse's motto."  
  
Xander grinned back at her. "'All Day I Dream About Sex'."   
  
Behind him Angel, the unpeople member of the group, scowled and threw a quick look at Buffy, who smiled at him mysteriously. "I'll bet."  
  
"Ya know," Xander said. "If you keep frowning like that-" he paled under Angel's black glare "-you'd probably succeed in making me shut up," he finished.  
  
"We're at the beginning of a new decade, guys," Willow complained. "Can't we all just get along?"  
  
Rupert Giles, who completed the small gang rolled his eyes, hefted his crossbow and beckoned them to follow him with a sigh. Wordlessly they continued to trail the prints until they reached a large and dusty mausoleum. Willow sneezed suddenly and made them all jump.  
  
"What a pleasant habitat," Xander remarked with sarcasm, and glanced at Angel almost accusingly.  
  
Angel ignored him. "I can smell the boy. He's still here somewhere."   
  
Angel tried to concentrate, but was interrupted by soft knocks. He stared at Xander, who was tapping the walls with his fingers and listening intently, and then walked over to a tall stone door and pushed it open, revealing a narrow tunnel. "Down there."  
  
Xander straightened his back. "I knew that."  
  
Willow giggled, and Buffy peered in the tunnel. "Here's the plan. Me and Angel go down-"  
  
"Angel and I," Giles corrected her.   
  
"Angel and I," she glared, "go down the tunnel all the way and pick a fight with whoever's down there. We'll distract them. Xander, when you hear enough noise, come down and rescue the kid, bring him to Willow and both of you take him home. If it gets too hard we'll call you guys and Giles for backup." She raised her eyebrows questioningly, but no one disagreed.  
  
"Be careful," Xander called as she and Angel departed down the tunnel.  
  
Half an hour later, the Master's underground hideaway was in absolute chaos. Not that on a normal day it was a neat and tidy HQ; the Master prided himself on being one of the messiest, most unstable disorderly Masters in the history of Sunnydalian Masters. But this particular chaos was caused by the attack of four humans and one vampire, which didn't happen all that often.  
  
In fact, this was the first time it had ever happened, and the vampires' confusion showed. They had trouble focusing on their fighting partners, concentrating instead on dodging the splashes of holy water that came from Willow and Xander, while Buffy, Giles and Angel battled vampires in groups of four and five with stakes, crossbows, and anything that came in handy. At one point Xander got close enough to the altar to untie and grab hold of a small boy who was staring at the happenings, wide-eyed.  
  
"Come on," Xander said, wishing he could come up with a more original line. "I'm getting you out of here."  
  
He lifted the boy and dodged the flying objects that were flying objectionably his way. When they got to Willow at the entrance of the cave he put him down.  
  
Willow knelt on her knees and asked with concern, "are you all right?" The boy nodded hesitantly, still shocked from what was going on, but certain that he'd never again be part of anything so exciting. Willow stuck a hand in her pocket. "I brought you a cookie!"  
  
His eyes lighted up at the offer but before he could take the cookie she snatched it back. "What do you say?" she chastised.  
  
"Thank you," he complied, and reached with his hand but was cut off by an irritated Xander.   
  
"Could we, you know, do this when we're not surrounded by fifty demons out for our blood?"  
  
"Let's go," Willow agreed, grasping the boy's hand and leading him down the tunnel.   
  
"Wait!" cried the boy, and ran back to entryway overlooking the scene of the fight. Helplessly, Willow and Xander followed.   
  
The boy stood still for almost a minute, his awed gaze taking in the blood and the gore and the violence of battle with the thirsty eyes of a child. But what he was seeing wasn't demons and cruel brutality. What he saw was extraordinary courage and valor, fierce love between teammates, noble warriors of justice. He saw heroes. "Look at them," he whispered.   
  
And Xander saw what the child saw. "I'm looking," he breathed, and clasped Willow's hand. She squeezed it in recognition.   
  
"But we have to go now," Xander added as an arrow buzzed by his ear. Seeing that the boy was safely out of harm's way, or at least almost out of harm's way as soon as Willow and Xander would move him, Buffy, Angel and Giles collectively broke off their fighting and retreated out of the lair.  
  
The group regrouped outside the mausoleum a few minutes later. Angel, who'd heard Buffy contemplate that he wasn't good with kids, tried to make friends with the boy. He leaned down with a wild grin. "Well, wasn't that exciting!" he exclaimed.  
  
The others looked at him for a long moment and then at the boy, who was still too breathless to notice Angel's unwitting condescension. "It was better than a treasure!" he finally blurted.   
  
Giles chuckled and ruffled his hair fondly. "I suppose, if you weren't the one being attacked from six directions."  
  
Buffy stuck her hands in her pockets and looked at the stars. "And maybe also if you were."  
  
Giles smiled at her, as did Angel. Xander smiled at Willow. Buffy smiled at Angel. Giles smiled at the boy. Feeling strange after exchanging foolish smiles for a few minutes, everybody cleared their throats and shuffled their feet.  
  
"We'd better get you home, kid," Buffy said reluctantly, and took the boy's hand. He lead the way and the others followed in an unconscious V, like Batman and his sidekicks in the darkness.  
  
As they made their way through the streets of Sunnydale, cracking jokes with easy familiarity, the night wasn't so silent anymore, and the boy decided that all his dreams of becoming a pirate were unrealistic anyway. Now he knew what he really wanted to be.  
  
"Is this where you live?" Willow asked when he stopped in front of a house. He nodded.  
  
"Well," Xander smiled kindly, "I guess we'll see you around, then."  
  
When they saw him open the door they turned away to leave, but Buffy called out, "Hey, kid! What's your name, anyway?"  
  
The boy turned around before locking the door. "I'm Joss."   
  
"Good night, Joss."  
  
The gang of five continued to travel down the street in camaraderie, linking hands. Well, some of them, anyway. Xander and Angel were still a way off from becoming that close.   
  
Buffy sighed. "You know, Will, I think you were right. As decades go, the sixties might not turn out so bad after all." 


End file.
